Screaming

[Mckinzie06]

I have a male green cheek who?s around 8 years old, He. Screams. So. Much. Anytime of day he just shrieks this high pitched annoying scream for anything, screams to get out of the cage, screams when he?s out of the cage, screams when he?s on my shoulder, even screams when he?s eating! Is there anyway i can stop this or is this just simple bird life. I also have 2 budgies and i think that they?re picking up on it and will start screeching too. Help me, hahaha

 

[Kitekeeper]

Hi Mac,

Screamming can be a very annoying and difficult issue to solve. I am sure that people here are comming with a good advise for you.

Meanwhile, it seems to me that your bird is bored and maybe started to "normalize" screaming as something he does for virtually any situation.

First I would try to keep him busy. If he is interested in something he will concentrate his energy on that and forget about screaming .It could be putting something he loves to eat in a small box that challenge him to open and retrieve the food. You could also adds something to chew like cardboard thus releaving his boredom or maybe anxiety.

Another thing you could try is to change the cage to another enviroment that might get him curious about. If nothing works, you could try to cover the cage with a sheet for short periods always associated with the screaming, showing him that screaming is "rewarded" with a time out.

Eitherway you are going to have a lot of patience to overcome this.

 

[T00tsyd]

I wouldn't cover the cage in daytime but that's a personal thing. I am not sure what it would achieve other than a bit of peace but I don't believe it would do your GCC any good at all. He is screaming for a reason so distraction seems a reasonable ploy. I try to rearrange Syd's cage every few days. This challenges him and I can see him working out how to get around with perches moved to different places. I don't move everything at once but perhaps change one or two and switch toys regularly.
I always believe in engaging the brain so some training each day will give him something else to think about as well as the suggested foraging ideas. Your reaction to the screaming will also impact. If his screams get a response from you then job's done from his point of view. I would try to ignore the screams and interact only when he is quiet. If Syd gets fed up we play a game where I say a word and he copies then I change the word and he catches up. All the time it's involving the brain.

 

[YoshiSquee]

I too am wondering how to get my baby green cheek of 6 months to stop screaming as well. Luckily he really only screams in the morning for his breakfast. I can’t leave the room until he is done eating or he still screams. I think I’ve conditioned him to know in the morning I will immediately serve him. Maybe this is a small complaint that isn’t really fixable bc he will always want to scream in the morning for food. Either way I feel for you!